Training them in the way they should go

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." 

I came home from work today and I asked Cas what happened, the whole house smelled like finger nail polish remover.  While he was getting Collin's breakfast together, Maya went on a typical Maya-destroyer venture, this time getting into the finger nail polish in my bathroom.  She somehow managed to untwist the top on a polish and then - with her fingers, smeared the polish all over her feet.  Not just her toenails, of course, but front and bottom of her feet, then walking all over the bathroom making tracks.  And when I heard this, my reaction included some sympathy for Cas, but also made me proud that my sweet sixteen month old girl is already into nail polish and knows it goes on her toes.  Training her up right - ha!

The destroyer, happy and mischievous - 

And speaking of training a child, the Aggie brainwashing begins.  My sweet friend Kelly gave Maya this cute dress that she sewed.  Considering I feel re-attaching a button is a huge feat, I'm highly impressed with all the outfits Kelly gifts us with for Maya.  And Collin, my contrarian child,  cheers for the Aggie opponents every Saturday now!

We threw on casual clothes and hit the park before the Aggie game on Saturday.

Sweet brother giving her pushes -

The collection of sticks grew over the course of our 30 minutes at the park -

Back at home, we had to document Collin's first try of mint chocolate chip -

He picked the ice cream because it was green, and is a fan of the mint ice cream, but let me eat all the chocolate chips -

Our drama queen and our space ranger

I haven't taken any photos with my camera in a few weeks, but we've grabbed the phone to capture the day to day glamour of our life.  Memories like . . . . how life can be rough when your mommy says no to graham crackers when she's cutting up the dinner you will be served in 30 seconds - 

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue (Collin is obsessed with the Toy Story hand-me-down pajamas from my best friend, Amber's boys)!

Maya dressed for church in the ADORABLE monogrammed outfit my friend, Kelly, made - 

I think she likes her first try of Ghiradelli chocolate!

Two weeks ago, we spent the day in Pearland with Esmae. The kids had a great time at the splash park - 

While Maya napped, the big kids watched Aladdin - on VHS - with Dash, the Italian Greyhound my parents were dog-sitting, in Esmae's lap.  They loved the sweet puppy - who lived up to his name as Collin and Esmae chased him around the house.  

My Aunt Carla may have been the only one to get a picture of Maya smiling in the pool all summer.

Oh this girl loves her "DADA" -

And this boy, I have so much fun with him.  It's going so, so fast.  We were looking at photos from his toddler years, which brings into focus what a boy he is now.  We went to the Children's Museum on Saturday, and I got to start the morning with him.

After the museum, I picked up my grandma to have lunch at a spot where we'd like to have a low-key baby shower in a few weeks.  We were both shocked by the size of her hamburger.  I thought they had the plates mixed up with another table, but turned out they stacked three huge onion rings on top of the burger patty for a mountain of a meal!

On Monday, Maya and I had a doctor's appointment.  Instead of hitting the park, the weather kept us inside, so we went to the play area in the mall near our doctor's office.  And there I witness her innate "ta da!"  She'd climb to the top of one of the foam bumps and then stand up and throw her arms in the air, then clap for herself.  I don't remember teaching her to "ta da" but it comes naturally!

And just as I started this blog post with a typical Maya tantrum, here's a typical Maya "I left you for 1 minute and found you up to no good" moment.  When I came back from grabbing shoes in my closet, I found Maya on a step stool in the kitchen with two of my bracelets on my arm.  Our destroyer.  She keeps us on our toes, but we could not love her more!

Drama-free Hair Styling

Sunday mornings follow a typical pattern at our house.  Maya is my alarm clock.  Coffee, the Today Show, start scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls.  Collin wakes, we eat and then get ready for church.  At some point in the morning, there's time to relax on the couch and watch CBS's morning program.  And at some point,  we're scrambling to get out the door and arguing with Collin about fixing his hair.  

But not Labor Day Sunday.  With the promise that Uncle Alex would put gel in his hair, there was no fight.  If only he were around every Sunday!  My happy boy with his hairstylist!

After church, we had a big family lunch with all my Houston relatives.  Uncle Dick and cousin Edie brought cupcakes to ice.  These two sweet cousins are 6 months apart, and it was so nice to see them playing and being silly together.

Proud of their decorated cupcakes.

And the best part - eating them!

After a family swim - on an overcast Sunday in August where Cas turned on the heater the pool was so cold - we headed back inside to play and read.  Maya with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Carla -

Why not add some more sugar on top of the cupcakes?!?

Trying to stop Uncle Alex from leaving, Maya took over his shoes -

It took Maya most of Alex's visit to warm up to him, since my parents, Cas or I were always around and she sticks like glue to those she's comfortable with over new faces.  But by the end, she was bringing him books to read (the book Aunt Coady found in Colorado for Collin!) -

And of course, right before he left, they were good enough friends to climb into his lap -

My kids with my brother and me -

Collin regards Alex as the absolute expert of all things fighting men, so several times a day we say "we'll have to ask Uncle Alex" about something related to his superheroes.

Maya did better with Alex than with me - or she was tired of photos.  

We had a great Labor Day weekend, thankful for all the time we got to spend with Alex.  We can't wait to see he and Coady this fall in Indiana - an adults-only trip with my parents.  And until our next reunion, we're thankful for FaceTime calls where we can show off the latest action figure or show off Maya's latest trick or new word.

Tumbling and Wrestling with Uncle Alex

My brother came in town for a few days over Labor Day, and Collin was counting down the minutes until he could tumble and wrestle with his uncle from Indiana.  We spent the night with my parents on Friday night so we could play with Alex as soon as he woke up on Saturday morning (and so Cas could clean the house and set up the grill in peace).  Of course, my kids woke up before Alex, but it wasn't long before he joined us for breakfast, and then the tumbling and wrestling commenced!

 The thirty-pound victor kicks his defeated uncle off the bed!

 By 9:30, we were headed back home to meet some of our friends coming over to swim.  Cas was grilling burgers, all our sweet friends brought delicious food, and we had a fun Saturday morning in the backyard.  After tennis with my dad, Alex and my parents came over for the afternoon and evening.  By the time they arrived, we were trying to get our kids to settle down, and kind Alex read through the stack of superhero books.

 My mom brought this great book with pictures and sentence strips for Collin to make up the story.  He had fun and gave the characters ridiculously silly names!

Oh Maya, she has a mind of her own.  Wanted to wear her puddle jumper inside and brought us the trashcan out of her bedroom, despite the 700 toys for her in the living room.

While Collin was with Grammy writing their story, Maya finally got some uninterrupted time with Uncle Alex.

As we waited for dinner, a second round of tumble and wrestling was required -

We had several conversations about how we only tumble and wrestle with Daddy, Brownie and Uncle Alex, so hopefully we don't get any notes sent home from school -

Silly and sweet boys -

Our climbing machine wanted in on the action!

Watching the crazy boys from the top of the footstool -

One happy nephew -

Collin stubbed his toe and sweet Maya came to his rescue, offering a hug to console her big brother.  Anytime we send him to his room for disobeying, she normally follows him in there to comfort him!

Discussing deep things like Ninja Turtles -

Grandma B coming for dinner was met with more hugs and smiles!

 And a double hug for Grammy -

We could eat this girl up, we love her so!

I think this is the only picture Cas is in from the whole weekend.  He was busy grilling both Saturday and Sunday and is now a ribs and hamburger pro! 

Sibling cuddling -

Cas and my dad made what was supposed to be a quick stop at Lowe's on the way to get pizza, so we had plenty of time to hang out before dinner.  And plenty of time to read our favorite books over and over and over -

She's great at following the cues in her Elmo book - patting her head -

And she loves to perform for her family - showing off after climbing up on the table - a skill we're less-than-thrilled that she learned -

Finally the pizza came, dinner was consumed, and Maya was taken off to bed.  Pizza is one meal where Collin needs no encouragement to eat, and after pizza and dessert, he and Alex compared who had the bigger belly.  My little boy, whose every rib you can count, was sure he had the biggest belly in the room!